Fred Says: "Live Within Your Means"

NonyaBiznes

Yanked Out My Purple-Blood I.V. In 2000!
Financial analysts always say, "Have a cushion" in case you get fired, laid off, sick, etc. Do you have a cushion for not getting a "cost of living" raise, health-care increase, loss of spousal employment, etc.?

When the crunch hit in 2008-2009, I was "somewhat" prepared. Cars were paid off, one credit card with minimum balance, spouses job cut back on overtime, all our bills are current. House will be paid off in five years, so that will be one less worry, when and/or (((( if )))) we/we can retire. *smirk*

Thank goodness we haven't had any injuries, illnesses, no prescriptions, etc. Try to eat right, exercise, no smoking, very little drinking. Our bundles of joy are out on their own, making their way ((( please don't come back home ... love ya ))).

We can live off my check, without overtime. I'm grateful that we don't try to "keep up with the Joneses". I wasn't a happy camper, when I had to switch from the "Employee/Spouse" to "Employee/Dependents" insurance ... what a crock!!! But that's just another way for Freddie to get more money. So I went to the "less expensive" insurance; figured I'd been paying for "PREMIUM" all those years and never even needed it (could have purchased a new car with that money).

What are you doing different, since Freddie has given a whole new meaning to "Live Within Your Means?" I've read a few stories and it's disheartening, to say the least.
 

hypo hanna

Well-Known Member
Like the OP, we have always lived within our means, only loans have been for the house and cars. Credit cards payed off at the end of every month. Save for vacations and other large purchases like home improvements. Now that's no longer enough. Looks like I will have to take on a part time job to cover basics.
 

Doc Sorting Dude

Well-Known Member
You can find ways to save money, its just getting family on board to agree to cuts. Cutting down on eating out and restricting "on demand" movies saved quite a bit after you realize just how much you were spending.
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
You guys/gals don't think right, try having a (medium or)major illness and you are behind for 5 years or more..
$3000+ out of pocket max? for some folks thats a month and a half of pay given the current hours cut.

You can cut expenses all you want, but unless you are living in a shed, there is no way to call this a CAREER!

Its a good job for a high school drop out... maybe Fred can start marketing it like that.

"Do you have no ambition in life, are regular jobs just to taxing on your brain! Come join the ranks of FedEx"
Stay for a few years and move on...

JFD- The new Jobs for Dummies program is endorsed by the Govt as job creation, and since Fred is creating so many
new jobs for "unskilled" labor, he'll be getting a huge tax break this year
 

overflowed

Well-Known Member
Its a good job for a high school drop out... maybe Fred can start marketing it like that.

"Do you have no ambition in life, are regular jobs just to taxing on your brain! Come join the ranks of FedEx"
Stay for a few years and move on...

JFD- The new Jobs for Dummies program is endorsed by the Govt as job creation, and since Fred is creating so many
new jobs for "unskilled" labor, he'll be getting a huge tax break this year[/QUOTE]

It is well known that express doesn't ask for transcripts.
 

TUT

Well-Known Member
You can find ways to save money, its just getting family on board to agree to cuts. Cutting down on eating out and restricting "on demand" movies saved quite a bit after you realize just how much you were spending.

Well all you did there was tell us about yourself. From the sounds of it here, it doesn't seem like a lot of newer drivers, box handlers are eating out or even have cable to order on demand. Perhaps cut back on the beer cost would be more inline. But if you aren't making a lot, paying for groceries/shelter and energy can pretty much tap one out.
 

sjh

Well-Known Member
My husband and I live on one income with young kids. We have managed to save an emergency fund of several months should we ever lose our income. We don't have any debt. Fought to pay it off, and stayed away from it since. We rent, but we rent cheap (for our location...probably double what most "cheap" rent costs, haha). I menu plan every meal, and we save for every purchase. And when I say save, I mean SAVE. For example, $9 every month gets put into our savings account so we can pay our annual Costco membership without stressing; we do the same for our car insurance, etc. We drive an inexpensive, paid-off car and one complete beater. Eat out maybe twice a month as a family, and then groupon our dates. The only movies we ever go out to see are drive-ins with the kids a couple times a year. We don't have cable - just netflix. We budget our money at the beginning of the month, so I know exactly how much I'm allowed to spend in what category. If I spend too much, that's it. I did that with food last month. We had to get creative for a week and while the kids hated it, we survived, but my kids will eat oatmeal and don't complain. ;)

We've learned that we mostly had a spending problem, not an income one. Now that we've learned the art of budgeting, saving, and saying no, it's much easier to live within our means.
 

55+

Well-Known Member
That's great...Budgeting is very important and it sounds like you could teach a lot of people how to do it how if corporate america co ntinues this trend of reducing pay and benefits you could be budgeting yourself right into the poor house.Hopefully you won't have to start dipping into your savings because your wages don't keep up with inflation.
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
That's great...Budgeting is very important and it sounds like you could teach a lot of people how to do it how if corporate america co ntinues this trend of reducing pay and benefits you could be budgeting yourself right into the poor house.Hopefully you won't have to start dipping into your savings because your wages don't keep up with inflation.

I'm sorry but budget all you want, when everyday items like milk cost 1.75 gal in 2007, and now tops 3.50+ per gal, and Gasoline was ~1.99 in 2007 and now 3.40+- When you look at Cost of living, it has skyrocketed, so have corporate earnings, yet employee wages are stagnant to the point that our purchase power has actually decreased. Because of the cost of living increases and healthcare costs, I actually earn LESS than I did in 2007!

Sure you can feed your family Ramen noodles, and dollar store burgers. For friend's Sake we live in America a supposed 1st world country, and people with FULL time jobs are on Welfare because they can't afford healthcare or to put food on the table, something is wrong, and it has mostly to do with corporate greed.
 

thedownhillEXPRESS

Well-Known Member
I'm sorry but budget all you want, when everyday items like milk cost 1.75 gal in 2007, and now tops 3.50+ per gal, and Gasoline was ~1.99 in 2007 and now 3.40+- When you look at Cost of living, it has skyrocketed, so have corporate earnings, yet employee wages are stagnant to the point that our purchase power has actually decreased. Because of the cost of living increases and healthcare costs, I actually earn LESS than I did in 2007!

Sure you can feed your family Ramen noodles, and dollar store burgers. For friend's Sake we live in America a supposed 1st world country, and people with FULL time jobs are on Welfare because they can't afford healthcare or to put food on the table, something is wrong, and it has mostly to do with corporate greed.

Amen to that!
 

TUT

Well-Known Member
My husband and I live on one income with young kids. We have managed to save an emergency fund of several months should we ever lose our income. We don't have any debt. Fought to pay it off, and stayed away from it since. We rent, but we rent cheap (for our location...probably double what most "cheap" rent costs, haha). I menu plan every meal, and we save for every purchase. And when I say save, I mean SAVE. For example, $9 every month gets put into our savings account so we can pay our annual Costco membership without stressing; we do the same for our car insurance, etc. We drive an inexpensive, paid-off car and one complete beater. Eat out maybe twice a month as a family, and then groupon our dates. The only movies we ever go out to see are drive-ins with the kids a couple times a year. We don't have cable - just netflix. We budget our money at the beginning of the month, so I know exactly how much I'm allowed to spend in what category. If I spend too much, that's it. I did that with food last month. We had to get creative for a week and while the kids hated it, we survived, but my kids will eat oatmeal and don't complain. ;)

We've learned that we mostly had a spending problem, not an income one. Now that we've learned the art of budgeting, saving, and saying no, it's much easier to live within our means.

That's the ole american dream... just scraping by. Good for your frugalness, but it doesn't really make a strong economy.
 

DontThrowPackages

Well-Known Member
Maybe if they lived within THEIR means, they wouldn't have such an appetite for greed. Is owning multiple private jets very necessary? What about homes no one even lives in for the better part of the year? Do you really need a garage the size of an average home full of cars? How many times does one person really need to visit Europe? Lets "ALL" live within our means.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
Maybe if they lived within THEIR means, they wouldn't have such an appetite for greed. Is owning multiple private jets very necessary? What about homes no one even lives in for the better part of the year? Do you really need a garage the size of an average home full of cars? How many times does one person really need to visit Europe? Lets "ALL" live within our means.

As long as they have theirs, it's all good. We're just the worker bees that "make it happen". This is Tea Party Capitalism taken to it's logical extreme...how are you liking it?
 

sjh

Well-Known Member
That's the ole american dream... just scraping by. Good for your frugalness, but it doesn't really make a strong economy.


Just scraping by? No, we just prioritize. We have fun, trust me. But doing the fun stuff requires that we don't do cable, or drive a fancier car, and we have to SAVE. Our tax return does not buy fancy new toys...it goes into our savings account.

Like others have said, corporate greed has gotten ridiculous. In places like Australia and Europe, many business owners live in normal houses and live average lives. They don't abuse their employees like employers in America. However, way too many people are reliant on the government for aid, and that is crippling our country. Go ahead and tell me its because of low wages...but if you're carrying around a cell phone with a data plan, driving a car that's less than 5 years old, eating fast food more than twice a week, and buying unnecessary electronics, please don't blame your lack of money on other people. Live on a budget that requires a few sacrifices and THEN complain. And when that happens, I'll side with you. But people in Africa live on less than $2 a day and have dirt floors and eat one meal a day - usually cassava mush or rice and beans. They're probably thinking of us Americans as greedy. "Do they really need two cars per family? And three meals a day plus snacks plus drive thru food? You mean to tell me that ALL have clean beds? And I've never seen a movie, but they watch them every day?" Perspective, guys.

And for the record, if you're working a full time job AND are on welfare, you're breaking the law. Just saying. ;)
 

MAKAVELI

Well-Known Member
That's the ole american dream... just scraping by. Good for your frugalness, but it doesn't really make a strong economy.


Just scraping by? No, we just prioritize. We have fun, trust me. But doing the fun stuff requires that we don't do cable, or drive a fancier car, and we have to SAVE. Our tax return does not buy fancy new toys...it goes into our savings account.

Like others have said, corporate greed has gotten ridiculous. In places like Australia and Europe, many business owners live in normal houses and live average lives. They don't abuse their employees like employers in America. However, way too many people are reliant on the government for aid, and that is crippling our country. Go ahead and tell me its because of low wages...but if you're carrying around a cell phone with a data plan, driving a car that's less than 5 years old, eating fast food more than twice a week, and buying unnecessary electronics, please don't blame your lack of money on other people. Live on a budget that requires a few sacrifices and THEN complain. And when that happens, I'll side with you. But people in Africa live on less than $2 a day and have dirt floors and eat one meal a day - usually cassava mush or rice and beans. They're probably thinking of us Americans as greedy. "Do they really need two cars per family? And three meals a day plus snacks plus drive thru food? You mean to tell me that ALL have clean beds? And I've never seen a movie, but they watch them every day?" Perspective, guys.

And for the record, if you're working a full time job AND are on welfare, you're breaking the law. Just saying. ;)
How are people on welfare and working a fulltime job? Didn't think that was possible. Contrary to what many believe not everyone on public assistance is milking the system and living the good life. Believe it or not there are areas in this great country that have 3rd world living conditions. Areas that have no jobs, poor education, high crime, and poor living conditions. It's not a crime to need help in this country. And everyone at some point in their life will need help at some level. So let's not throw stones and paint everyone with a broad brush. Is the system perfect? Of course not, and it may never be. But corporate greed and abuse far outweighs the people milking public assistance. More focus should be on improving these impoverished areas, and giving people opportunity instead of demonizing them.
 

TUT

Well-Known Member
Just scraping by? No, we just prioritize. We have fun, trust me. But doing the fun stuff requires that we don't do cable, or drive a fancier car, and we have to SAVE. Our tax return does not buy fancy new toys...it goes into our savings account.

Like others have said, corporate greed has gotten ridiculous. In places like Australia and Europe, many business owners live in normal houses and live average lives. They don't abuse their employees like employers in America. However, way too many people are reliant on the government for aid, and that is crippling our country. Go ahead and tell me its because of low wages...but if you're carrying around a cell phone with a data plan, driving a car that's less than 5 years old, eating fast food more than twice a week, and buying unnecessary electronics, please don't blame your lack of money on other people. Live on a budget that requires a few sacrifices and THEN complain. And when that happens, I'll side with you. But people in Africa live on less than $2 a day and have dirt floors and eat one meal a day - usually cassava mush or rice and beans. They're probably thinking of us Americans as greedy. "Do they really need two cars per family? And three meals a day plus snacks plus drive thru food? You mean to tell me that ALL have clean beds? And I've never seen a movie, but they watch them every day?" Perspective, guys.

And for the record, if you're working a full time job AND are on welfare, you're breaking the law. Just saying. ;)

I agree with a lot of this, but your initial write up still sounds like scraping by. Your making some expenses sound very exuberant which I don't necessarily agree, they aren't necessities but come'on we are Yankee's right? There is also a perspective that we have a standard of living above others, no matter what standards some other country has. Should we accept Africa's standards because they can survive doing it? It just isn't a popular thought, however staying within your budget is, yours is just a low one. Here is one of my simple things in life... I should be going forward financially instead of backwards.
 
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